The Atherton Tablelands or the Daintree — which day trip from Cairns?
Daintree if it is your only day, Tablelands if you have two. The Daintree and Cape Tribulation is the famous one — the oldest rainforest on earth, running down to the beach, with a crocodile cruise on the river, from $224. The Atherton Tablelands is the one locals send you on — waterfalls you swim in, crater lakes and a tea house on a green plateau, from $175 and the gentler day. And you can do both in one booking over two days from $445.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
Both run out of Cairns, both take a full day, and both pick you up from your accommodation. They go in opposite directions and give you a completely different day.
The difference in one box
- The Daintree is north, along the coast.World Heritage rainforest meeting the reef at Cape Tribulation, a guided cruise on the Daintree River watching for estuarine crocodiles, and the ferry across.
- The Tablelands are inland and uphill.A green volcanic plateau of crater lakes and waterfalls — Millaa Millaa, where you swim behind a 30 metre wall of water — with Devonshire tea at Lake Barrine.
- The Daintree is the one you have heard of.The Tablelands is the one you did not expect to like as much as you did.
- The Tablelands is cooler.It sits well above the coast, which in a Cairns summer is the whole point.
If you only have one day
| Pick | If |
|---|---|
| The Daintree | It is your first time in the tropics, or you want to stand where the rainforest meets the sea. It is the postcard. |
| The Tablelands | You would rather swim than look, you are travelling with children, or it is February and you want the altitude. |
| Neither | You have not done the reef yet. Do the reef first — the rainforest will still be there tomorrow and the weather matters less. |
The Daintree and Cape Tribulation
| Trip | What you get | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Cape Tribulation Tour | — | Small group | $224 |
| 1 Day Cape Tribulation Tour | — | Max 21 | $229 |
| 1 Day Aboriginal Culture & Rainforests | — | Max 21 | $389 |
The 4WD trip goes beyond Cape Tribulation onto the Bloomfield Track, which a coach cannot. The Aboriginal-guided day is a different thing again — coastal country walked with a Kubirri Warra clan member.
The Atherton Tablelands
| Trip | What you get | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Atherton Tablelands Tour | — | Small group | $175 |
| 1 Day Chillagoe & Outback Tour | — | Max 21 | $235 |
Chillagoe is the long way west rather than the Tablelands proper — limestone caves laid down as coral reef 400 million years ago, walked with a ranger.
Or do both
The 2 day Tablelands, Daintree and Cape Tribulation covers the plateau on day one and the rainforest on day two in one booking. You arrange your own night between them, which keeps the price down and lets you stay where you like in Cairns.
2 Day Tablelands, Daintree & Cape Tribulationfrom $4452 days, you arrange your own night between themOwn Arrangement2 days — the Tablelands and the Daintree, one bookingView trip
2 Day Cape Tribulation Tourfrom $3992 days, 1 nightEco Lodge (Dorm Style)2 days — Cape Tribulation with a night in the rainforestView tripWorth knowing
- Both include park feesso the price you see is the price.
- Neither needs a car.Every one of these picks up from Cairns accommodation.
- Do not swim in the Daintree River or any estuary.That is crocodile country and the signs mean it. The Tablelands swimming holes are freshwater and safe.
- August is the driest month in Cairnsaveraging 26mm. February averages 438mm, and the waterfalls are at their best right after it.
Planning three days here?
Reef, rainforest and one of your own choosing is the shape that works. There is a day-by-day version on our three days in Cairns page.
Where this comes from. What each day trip visits, the vehicle, group sizes and prices are that trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. Rainfall is the Bureau of Meteorology long-term monthly average for Cairns Aero.